Roll suppression device for offshore structure

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a roll-suppression device for an offshore structure and, more particularly, to a roll-suppression device for an offshore structure that enables enlargement of a width of a damping plate for suppressing roll of the offshore structure in order to maximize the effect of suppressing the roll and is configured to eliminate a risk of collision of the damping plate having the enlarged width with other ships during shuttle docking or ship-to-ship operation. Further, this device has a detachable structure so as to enable a building operation within a dock or a outfitting operation at shore.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, an offshore structure is shaped like a ship or a barge, such as floating production storage offloading (FPSO), liquefied natural gas floating production storage offloading (LNG FPSO), floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU), etc., which moves in various directions by wind, seawater flow or the like. Among such motions of the offshore structure, rolling has a much smaller damping coefficient than motion in other directions such as pitching, yawing or the like, thereby causing a large rolling motion even on a benign sea.

For the sake of stability and working efficiency on the sea, the offshore structure has generally used a bilge-keel to reduce rolling.

The bilge-keel for reducing rolling, wherein a ship or the like rocks from side to side, is longitudinally attached to left and right bilge strakes, starboards and/or ports of a hull, where the bottom and lateral walls of the hull meet, in a longitudinal direction of the hull. A conventional offshore structure employs the bilge-keel to reduce rolling, but the bilge-keel is not particularly effective at reducing rolling, since it cannot be designed beyond the bilge radius, lateral side and bottom of the offshore structure due to various risks.

In addition, not only do devices for actively suppressing roll of the offshore structure, i.e., an anti-roll tank, a fin stabilizer, etc. have a complicated structure, but also there is no example of practical application to the offshore structure due to issues in maintenance, effect, etc. Moreover, a step, a skirt and the like are considered in light of a large bilge-keel, but entail a serious risk during shuttle docking or ship-to-ship offloading, since they are directly mounted to a base line.

The present disclosure is directed to solving the problems as described above, and one embodiment provides a roll-suppression device that efficiently reduces roll due to large waves applied to an offshore structure, improves stability and work efficiency of the offshore structure at sea, and removes risks during shuttle docking or ship-to-ship operation.

In accordance with one embodiment, a roll-suppression device for an offshore structure includes: a connection unit protruding downward from a bottom of the offshore structure; and a damping plate connected to the connection unit and separated from the bottom of the offshore structure to suppress rolling of the offshore structure.

The damping plate may be connected to the connection unit at either side of the bottom of the offshore structure to be disposed along either side of the bottom.

The damping plate may be disposed to face an outside of the offshore structure while intersecting a lower end of the connection unit at a right angle.

The roll-suppression device may further include a reinforcement member secured to the damping plate and the connection unit to reinforce the damping plate. The roll-suppression device may be detachably connected to the connection unit.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a roll-suppression device for an offshore structure in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the roll-suppression device in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the roll-suppression device in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be now described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are given by way of illustration to provide a thorough understanding of the invention to those skilled in the art. Hence, it should be understood that other embodiments will be evident based on the present disclosure, and that system, process or mechanical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a roll-suppression device for an offshore structure in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the roll-suppression device in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , a roll-suppression device 100 for an offshore structure 10 according to this embodiment includes a connection unit 110 under the bottom of the offshore structure 10 , and a damping plate 120 connected to the connection unit 110 to suppress rolling. Herein, the offshore structure 10 includes a structure equipped with a plant or the like that produces/supplies crude oil or natural gas while at sea, for example, floating production storage offloading (FPSO), liquefied natural gas floating production storage offloading (LNG FPSO), floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU), etc. Additionally, the offshore structure 10 may also include a passenger ship, a cargo ship, and other ships for various purposes.

The connection unit 110 is disposed under the bottom of the offshore structure 10 and protrudes downward therefrom. In this embodiment, the offshore structure 10 is provided at opposite sides of the bottom thereof with connection units 110 , which may have a truss structure or similar structure.

The damping plate 120 is connected to a lower end of the connection unit 110 and is separated downward from the bottom of the offshore structure 10 to suppress rolling. Further, in this embodiment, a pair of damping plates 120 is provided to efficiently suppress the rolling of the offshore structure 10 and connects with the corresponding connection units 110 , which are respectively provided at the opposite sides of the bottom of the offshore structure 10 , so as to be arranged along the opposite sides of the bottom of the offshore structure 10 .

The damping plate 120 may have various dimensions depending on the size of the offshore structure 10 . For example, the damping plate 120 is constituted by a large flat plate of 5 m or more in width, thereby noticeably increasing a roll-damping coefficient and providing a high effect of reducing rolling. Further, the connection unit 110 allows the damping plate 120 to be submerged 6 m or more below the hull baseline of the off shore structure 10 , thereby overcoming restrictions of a conventional bilge-keel, step or the like.

Thus, the risk of direct collision with a ship can be removed during shuttle docking or ship-to-ship operation. The damping plate 120 may be disposed to face the outside of the offshore structure 10 while intersecting the lower end of the connection unit 110 at a right angle. Thus, the damping plate 120 can reduce rolling on the basis of energy loss due to drag resulting from pressure difference between a top surface and a bottom surface of the damping plate 120 , its own superficial friction, and flow separation at an end thereof.

The roll-suppression device 100 for the offshore structure according to the embodiment further includes a reinforcement member 130 for structural reinforcement of the damping plate 120 or the like. The reinforcement member 130 has a structure of a plate, a frame or a bracket, and is connected to the damping plate 120 and the connection unit 110 . Further, a plurality of reinforcement members 130 are successively arranged at regular intervals along one side of the damping plate 120 , so that not only the damping plate 120 and the connection unit 110 are connected to each other through the reinforcement member 130 but also coupling force between the damping plate 120 and the connection unit 110 is improved, thereby preventing the damping plate 120 from being deformed or broken by external force.

The roll-suppression device 100 for the offshore structure according to the embodiment permit changes in size of the damping plate 120 and in size of the reinforcement member 130 and a support point depending on applications of the offshore structure 10 or an environmental load of the applied area. Here, the damping plate 120 and the like are manufactured as members properly divided in the longitudinal direction, carried to an operating site, and then connected to the hull of the offshore structure 10 through bolting. Thus, this connection allows a detachable design of the damping plate 10 to the hull of the offshore structure 10 , thereby facilitating ship construction or shore operation inside a dock.

Operation of the roll-suppression device for the offshore structure according to the embodiment will be described hereinafter.

The damping plate 120 is separated downward from the bottom of the offshore structure 10 by the connection unit 110 and thus suppresses rolling of the offshore structure 10 . Accordingly, it is possible to enlarge the span and width of the damping plate 120 , thereby improving the efficiency with which rolling is suppressed.

For example, the damping plate 120 may have a width of 5 m or more, so that the roll-damping coefficient can be noticeably increased. Further, the damping plate 120 is placed downward by 6 m or more below the hull baseline of the offshore, so that the restrictions of a conventional bilge-keel, step or the like can be overcome, thereby fully eliminating the occurrence of direct collision with other ships during shuttle docking or ship-to-ship operation.

Further, the roll-suppression device 100 for the offshore structure 10 according to the embodiment is detachably coupled to the hull of the offshore structure 10 , thereby facilitating ship construction or shore operation inside a drydock.

As such, the roll-suppression device for an offshore structure according to the embodiment permits enlargement of the width of the damping plate for suppressing roll of the offshore structure, thereby efficiently suppressing rolling, improving stability and work efficiency of the offshore structure, and eliminating a risk of collision or the like during shuttle docking or ship-to-ship operation. Further, the device is detachably coupled to the hull of the offshore structure, thereby facilitating ship construction or shore operation inside a drydock.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary, to employ concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet further embodiments. These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.